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A New York man is seeking $5 million in damages (registration required) from his pastor, his church, and the denomination, saying that the pastor had a four-year affair with his wife.

The man says the pastor, who baptized his children and was his and his wife's marriage counselor, used information from counseling sessions to seduce his wife. The man also says the pastor failed to adhere to the "standard of care for a clergyman" and in doing so caused him emotional distress.

His lawsuit further states that the church knew accusations that the preacher "had exploited his position at (the church) to prey on women to whom he was providing spiritual and marital counseling."

I'm thinking he has a good malpractice case. I'm also wondering why, if the accusations are correct, that other church leaders, who credited the preacher with increasing membership, did nothing. Is it that we make spiritual leaders deities in their own right?

If it's true that President Bush is influenced by his faith, I wonder how much influence this decision will have.

Interesting. Isn't he still on cable?

Alex McFarland, one of the foremost authorities on apologetics (defenders of the Christian faith), is in town next week, and his schedule includes a book signing for "Stand" from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Nov. 10. at the Logos Christian bookstore, 2709 Battleground Ave. (282-3339).
McFarland, who lived in Greensboro until recently, when he took a position with Focus on the Family, is also speaking at the Colfax Baptist Church from Nov. 6-9 (993-2674).

Here's an excerpt from "Stand":

"Genesis 2:15," said Richard Cizik, the association's vice president for governmental affairs, citing a passage that serves as the justification for the effort: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

Should the IRS really single out this church?

Is her leaving Lestat for Jesus one of those signs that the end of the world is near?

Ok, seriously: Anybody reading the new book?

So, is this an example of the flock following the messenger or the message?

The FaithAction International House offers a free of screening "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," a movie that is selling out in places like New York and Los Angeles and opens this weekend in other cities. Of course Wal-Mart isn't happy with the movie.

"Is Wal-Mart really evil, or is this just overblown hype?" writes FaithAction's executive director Mark Sills. "As a frequent Wal-Mart shopper, I certainly don't know. However, any business that employs 1.6 million people, costs the taxpayers upwards of $2.5 billion for supplementary government services to keep its employees out of poverty and has annual revenues of $258 billion -- bigger than many countries -- deserves close scrutiny."

The man has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times and has spoken out against gang violence -- things that might have gotten him invited to the White House, had he not been on Death Row for multiple murders. Now there's a petition effort led by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, who plays him in the biographical movie, to stop the execution of Stan "Tookie" Smith.

When should good deeds and a heartfelt 'sorry' open the exit doors off Death Row? Or should the death penalty remain the 'eye for an eye'penalty?

"And bowing to protests from Orthodox Jewish groups, the Christian partners will have to agree not to go out and proselytize to local Jewish Israelis."

This is why I think some people turn away from organized religion.

Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-Matic™ knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.

Some people get there.

Justin Catanoso, a former News & Record reporter, now editor of The Business Journal, recently traveled to Rome where his grandfather's first cousin, Gaetano Catanoso, was one of five formally canonized by Pope Benedict XVI (although beatified by Pope John Paul II). Read a wonderful story. Hear a wonderful story, here.

North Carolina Baptists are observing their 175th anniversary at the 2005 convention, today through Wednesday at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. North Carolina Baptists represent the largest denominational entity in North Carolina, with 1.2 million members in 4,011 churches and missions. More than 4,000 "messengers" are expected to attend.

*Electing an Executive Director: George Bullard of Cary is the acting executive director-treasurer. He was associate exec before that and while many assumed he would retain the acting exec role, the second vice-president of the Baptist State Convention, Brian Davis of Statesville, has said he will nominate Mike Cummings of Lumberton to replace Bullard. The Executive Committee must either recommend Bullard or someone else to the full board of directors when each group meets today. Baptist "messengers" will vote on the candidate.

*Budget challenge: Ted Stone of Durham says he will again challenge the Cooperative Program Missions Giving budget and giving plans unique to North Carolina. He wants more money to go to the Southern Baptist Convention, and for churches to have only one giving plan option.

*Homosexual Prohibition: Bill Sanderson, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell, has declared his intention to amend the bylaws to include a prohibition from membership of any church that supports homosexuality.

"(The Bible) says a homosexual cannot go to heaven, and yet people ordain them to preach the gospel when they are not going (to heaven) themselves," says messenger David Martin. "We shouldn't write them off. We shouldn't be hardhearted -- but you have to take a stand."

I've heard more than one person say, "At least the Baptists are honest." I wonder if gay Christians really care.

Just when you can't take another story about another spoiled athlete wanting to renegotiate his contract, a sexcapades cruise with seven-figure athletes and half-dressed women, the sight of your child's favorite sports hero in handcuffs.

This is a big oversight in a community where from its earliest existence, Jews were "extraordinarily" significant.

For a quick history lesson, check out a story I wrote just last year:

Greensboro is one of 17 stops along the caravan route for Southeast Young Judaea, which will be collecting items today to be distributed to a United Way Relief Center in Jackson, Miss.

Young Judaea, the Zionist Youth Movement of Hadassah, the Jewish Women's service and education organization, has pledged to send four 24-foot trucks, two from the Southeast and two from the Northeast, to a United Way Relief Center in the Gulf Coast region.

The collection is 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jewish Federation of Greensboro, Guilford Corporate Park, 5509-C West Friendly Avenue.
Items needed: non-perishable food items (esp. for Thanksgiving dinners); new children’s books and toys and new blankets; monetary donations.

"It's hard for me sometimes to hear reactions like this to being gay. I have very supportive parents and I'm very grateful for a life lived
honestly and truthfully. My church, fortunately, does not share the
Baptist view. It's not always been that way for me however and I have
the scars from the church of my childhood to prove it.

It's hard as a child to hear that the world will be destroyed because of "the homosexual men." At the age of 8 I knew who I was.

"That's a lot of pressure for a child -- you know, to be responsible for the destruction of the world. My perspective shifted from being good child trying to be better, to bad child who could never be good enough. That's what the word of God taught me for most of my childhood. Jesus loves the little children, not the homosexual ones, of the world.

"So, anyway, that was part of my past. I now use those parts of my past to help others and heal myself. Now I know better. My God is not the one of hate and disgust but the one who speaks to me that he loves me and he created me "whole." I just try each day to show to others what Jesus showed to everyone."

Talk about bringing the Bible to life....

Clete Childs, 16, whose father, Dr. Craig Childs, pastors Friendly Hills Church in Jamestown, has died after a Thursday night automobile accident involving an alleged drunken driver.
Childs is among half a dozen local young people who have lost their lives in car accidents just in the last week.
I'm sending good thoughts Dr. Childs' way...

Who/what gave religion a bad name this year?

Her husband was a full-time worker at a ship repair yard, her son in high school. Her daughter was home schooling, right before Hurricane Katrina disrupted their lives.
The family left New Orleans the Sunday before the devastating hurricane hit. When the mayor ordered mandatory evacuations, they took what they could — not much — and made their way to North Carolina, where a single friend offered a room in his small home.
I haven't told you the name of the family because that's the way they want it. I'm interested in their plight, first told to me by an acquaintance, because it's the journey of a needy atheist family in the world of Christian charity.

From megachurches to megamosques?

what you ask for. Is that today's lottery lesson for North Carolinians?

The Vatican says some homosexual men can be priest -- but there's a litmus test.

Statement from The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte (which covers much of the western part of the state including Greensboro) regarding: "Criteria for Vocational Discernment Regarding Admission to Seminary and to Sacred Orders for Persons with Homosexual Tendencies."

"The priesthood is conferred on men who have given proof that they have been called by God to the gift of chastity in absolute and perpetual celibacy. They must demonstrate that they have received the gift of celibacy by living a celibate life even during the time of their seminary formation. The Church is seeking healthy men to ordain to the priesthood, not perfect men, but men who are healthy spiritually, emotionally and physically."

So, I was enthralled in NBC's The Biggest Loser last night, when during one of the promos for new shows for next season, I see a flaxen-haired Jesus (looking like he had just stepped out of The Last Supper) talking in a backyard to Daniel, a priest in what is NBC's newest religious-themed dramedy, "Daniel," ie "The Book of Daniel."
Apparently Daniel meets Jesus on the swing/bench to talk about his troubled kids, his troubled life.
Apparently, this Jesus will challenge long held notions -- "And where did you read that?" Jesus responded with a bewildered look on his face to one question.
I'm wondering if Satan is being readied for Sweeps Week.